Improvement in preparing,hemp, flax



i of our said invention, and of the features that JiM B. FULLER AND JAMES P. UPHAM', or OLAREMONT, new IMPROVEMENT m PREP ARI NGflE MP, F'LAX, at, FOR semmue. I,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,538, dated May 2, 1365.

J Arms 1?. UPHAM, of Olaremont, in the county of Sullivan and State of New Hampshire, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and useful Improvement in thePreparation of Vegetable Fiber, suchas Flax and Hemp; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description distinguish the same from the inventions that have preceded it.

Bovings and yarns of flax have heretofore been drawn out'whilein a wet or moist state, so that the fibers may separate more easily and be extended previous to the spinning operation. Ourinvention, therefore, doesnotapply, broadly, to drawing the fibers of flax, &c.,

apart or extending a yarn or sliver while in a moist or wet condition. i

The nature of our said invention consists in subjecting vegetable fibers-such as flax and hemp to a parting or drawing operation while moist or wet, and previous to a carding, picking, 'or beating operation.

We have discovered that the fibers of flax, &c., when subjected while wet to the action of drawing-rollers previous to carding, will work much more uniformly in the subsequent operations, because the said drawing-rollers pull the fibers apart and reducethem to nearly a uniform length. This also loosens the fibers longitudinally, so that they are more easily separated nearly to their ultimate fineness than wouldbe the case if the carding operation were performed without the previous drawing operation, and this insures great uniformity in i the sliver, bat, or yarn subsequently produced.

The operation of our invention is as follows:

The fibrous mass, while in any convenient form and while in awet or moist condition, is passed between two or more sets of rollers, either fluted or smooth, and so speeded as to produce a drawingor parting operation on the fibers, similar to the action of the rollers of the ordinary drawing-frames used in cotton-mills; The rollers should be set at suitable distances from each other, so as to regulate the length of the fibers.

The operation may be conducted on anortion, as the fibers will separate longitudinally xgether until they became dry; QWe preferthat PA ENT OFFICE.

in cotton-mills, or anymachineor machines of similar nature, the object beingto pulliapart the fibers and reduce them to a uniformlength, after which the fibers are pickedf beaten or; carded, each or all, for the purpose ofsepa- I rating the mass which hasbeen pressed to} gether by the action of the rollers. The mass of fiber is to be carded while ina moist condimuch more easy and perfectlythan would be the case if the said fibers remained matted to-;

the carding operation be performed immediately after the fibers ihave beeni pulled {apart by the drawing-rollers; but it maysometimes be necessary to moisten the fiber again before carding. it By carding the fibers of flax and similar ma-' terials in a wet or moist jconditionwthe said fibers are by one operation red uniform and fine condition than iwou e e e from several dry carding operations, and when p: carded wet the fibers are not so liable to be broken and reduced to short piecesias they are when carded dryi 1 i y 1 It will be evident that a in all cases thefiber must be carded afterbeingpulled apart by the action of the drawingrollers, inorjder that the fibers may be rendered more even. i j In cases where the fibersjj re intended for coarse fabrics, or to be mixedwithlwooh on for batting, or for manyother purposes where the ultimate longitudinal finenessis not desir- I able or required, after being pulled apart by] the action of the rollers, as before described, 1

JIM'B. FULLER. y

i JAME l U HAMw Witnesses: LEMUEL WgSEBRELL Q 1 Grass. H. SMITH. t 3;; j 

